In a strange incident in a city in Texas that destroyed the entire city, the 1947 incident began with a small flame of fire that stretched into cargo ships loaded with flammable ammonium nitrate and burst into flames to reach the oil-producing plants to destroy the green and the land. Wreck of flames and smoke.
On the morning of April 16, 1947, Texas residents woke up to huge fire that caught the smallest and most active port on the Gulf of Galveston Bay, which has had no impact since then. The French cargo ship, which was carrying "Ammonium nitrate", which caused a series of devastating explosions in the port.
Workers on this day began their normal work in loading and unloading oil tanks, while the students were on their way to school and the housewives were on their way to the market and did not expect what had happened on the day.
At 8am and 3pm, the shipguards saw a small flame of fire in the Grand Camp truck, which was carrying a number 4 and set out at the top of the pier. Some volunteers went out to put out the fire but could not control the fire, Ammonium nitrate goods used in manure industry.
Half an hour after the fire was discovered, the ship exploded, causing a terrible bang. The Texas city turned into a mass of flames and smoke within a few seconds. The explosion went from the ship to a nearby chemical company. A company of petroleum products and the sounds of several high consecutive explosions filled the sky waves of flames.
The buildings shook over the heads of the population and there was a large number of workers surrounded by fire, the victim of this event 512 dead and 3,000 injured and left losses exceeded 51 million US dollars, and the clusters of metal and wood burning in the sky from the force of the explosion and scattered on large areas in the city and spread smoke in the sky The whole city.
The sounds of deadly screams, police, ambulance and rescue vehicles were heard, but the amount of fumes, flames and temperature made the rescue mission impossible. The SS Hay Flyer, which was loaded with ammonium nitrate, burst into flames for 16 hours. Flying over the sky of the port, and two people inside the plane were killed.
"I tried to bury myself in some flour bags," said Fleipp Floresi, an army officer who was working 25 meters from the ship. "A few seconds later the factory exploded." I rushed to run to save my life".
Texas residents were in complete shock and none of the city had a friend or relative except that it was on the list of victims. In a decade, the city of Texas was back and the effects of the devastation had completely disappeared. The federal court fined the US government $ 16 million in murder cases Personal injury and personal property. The last payment was made to Frenchwoman Anne Trion, whose husband was killed on the Grand Camp and handed over $ 25,000.